Ohio’s First Peoples by James H. O’Donnell III (review)

Book Reviews James H. O'Donnell III. Obio' s First Peoples. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004. 176 pp. ISBN: 0821415255 (paper), 17.95. bio's First Peoples is part of a series of academic publications related to the state of Ohio and Ohio University, in honor of Ohjo University's bicentennial. It documents the history of Ohio's various indigenous populations from precontact periods through the historic period beginning after contact with Europeans,to formal removal from the state. The author bases the earlier portion of this story on archaeological data and, for more recent events, he relies on an abundant supply of textual evidence. To my knowledge, this is the most comprehensive presentation ot indigenous societies and their illfated encounters with the power ot the American empire yet written . As such, this vo lume represents a very solid,wellresearched and wellwritten contribution to Native American history, a vital part of understanding Ohio and the United States today. The author' s first goal is to remind contemporary Ohioans of those who lived here before them ( p. 12).O'Donnell begins with a description of the precontact populations known as the Adena, Hopewell,and Fort Ancient peoples. Here he hopes to demonstrate that Native Americans lived in Ohio for millennia prior to 1788 when European Americans first began to settle the state, and that they lived in settled communities with a mixed agricultural economy. These early Indians also established clearlv defited territories and cotiimitted themselves to planned use of their land,practiCeS that contradict images of Indians as nomadic people with no ties to the land that were popularized iii the late nineteenth century and based on information about various Indian tribes who inhabited the Great Plains at that time. Although the author' s conunents regarding the ability of archaeologists to reconstruct the past seem unnecessarily dismissive p. 8), this book in fact demonstrates that knowing the precontact history of native peoples can be an essential tc, 01, useful in understanding how European Americans conquered America's indigenous societies. The core of thiS voltltlle richt)' documents the tribes who lived in seventeenth and eighteenth century Ohio, especially the Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot, Seneca, Iroquois , and Miami peoples, as well as other Indian tribes, depending upon their relative presence in Ohio and the availability of historic documentation . This very illuminating history explores Christian missionizing efforts among the Delaware, the resistance of leaders representing the Shawnee, and removal of the Wyandots, the last tribe to reside in Ohio. I found particularly compelling O'Donnell' s description of the revitalization movement begun by the Shawnee Prophet, his account of Thomas Jefferson's enmity towards the Shawnee, and the fact that at least one treaty created ( on paper) a Delaware Indian State in 1778. The book also provides an excellent description of treaties and tribal leaders. The theme connecting the historic chapters WINTER 2004 i Ohio' s First Peoples D., 8 71 BOOK REVIEWS k, cuses on the loss suffered by Native Americans, alid here the author makes his sympathies knowli clearly. O'Donnell is explicit in his desire to expose the treachery of the United States goverliment and American settlers, and includes tc) that end a descriptioii of the murder of innocent Delaware wonien and children and other atrocities perpetrated upon unarmed victims. He also shows why, whether agreeing to peaceful alliances and treaties, resisting throiigh cooperative eff(, rts with several tribes,or attempting to assimilate int(, the growing European American population,Ohio's indigenous tribes failed to halt the advance of the Atiierican empire. Although references are made in the text and footnotes to land purchases or econoiiiic depression as they influenced polic> towards Indians, I would have liked to have read a bit tiiore about these subjects. O'Donnell ends this volume by reminding readers of the significance of Ohio's former inhabitatits. 1 would add that the archacological record of these past peoples is of vital importance to the ctiltura] menlory of these societies as well as ours, and that preservation of the state' s archeolc, gical sites, in the face of continued destruction,should be a concern for all of Ohioans. Iii addition tc) the book's rich content, O'Donnell...